When I last left off, I was optimistic that we'd make it to 37 weeks. My fluid levels were good, blood pressure under control... although at my next appointment on December 20th.. my blood pressure was back up and I was also having more headaches. I was due to have blood work done and a urine sample collected at this appointment along with getting pre-registered for a January 2nd induction date. Unfortunately, my urine results came back as a +1 for protein... so the OB ordered another 24 hour urine with instructions to call on Saturday for results.
Saturday morning came and my blood results were just fine, although my platelets had dropped quite a bit from my last blood draw, but they were still within the normal limits. Unfortunately, my 24 hour urine results weren't back yet and Dr. Gill told me to call back later that evening and explained that sometimes the lab gets backed up on the weekend and turn around results are slower. About an hour later, I got nauseous and eventually threw up. I hadn't been feeling the greatest, but I couldn't pinpoint it to anything specific - I just wasn't myself and felt like something was wrong. Nausea and vomiting were two of the worrisome symptoms of preeclampsia that I was supposed to report immediately. So, I called the triage nurse and she wasn't too concerned and thought that I just had the "stomach bug." I started crying on the phone because I knew that something was wrong.... and I realize that I can be a hypochondriac at times, but I really, really was concerned. The nurse told me that if it made me feel better and would relieve my anxiety, I was welcome to come in to get checked out. Steve had plans to work on the nursery all day, but instead we gathered my hospital bag and packed a bag for Amaya to spend the night at Papa and Grandma Gustafson's "just in case" I was admitted.
After dropping Amaya off, we checked in at triage and discovered that my urine results STILL weren't in... my blood pressure was slightly elevated, but could have been related to the flurry of activity. Once Dr. Gill contacted the lab, she said it would be about an hour for the results to come back and we'd figure out a plan from there. Steve grabbed some lunch and we decided to watch the movie, "The Guardian." A couple hours later, Dr. Gill and the consultant came in and my protein level was at 368! (300 is the cutoff for preeclampsia). With my protein results and elevated blood pressure, little Weston was going to be born this weekend and induction would start right away.
Needless to say, I was shocked... I knew I wasn't feeling good and I realized that at any time I could develop preeclampsia, I guess I just didn't think it would really happen. We transferred over to Labor and Delivery and the activity began. Lab work done, an IV put in, blood pressure checks every 15 minutes, baby monitoring, IV fluids hung, and magnesium sulfate started. Magnesium sulfate is a medication that helps to prevent seizures... it gave me a crazy, out of body experience for the first half an hour, but after that, I just felt tired. The plan was to begin a medication called Cytotec to help ripen my cervix - and I was only 1cm dilated, so I knew it was going to be a long process - just like with Amaya. Cytotec is given every 4 hours and I would be checked at those intervals to see how I was progressing. The evening turned into night and night turned into day and finally after four doses, the consultant made an executive decision to go ahead and artificially rupture my membranes at 2:30pm since I was still only 1-2cm dilated. (This was the scariest experience for me only because he was rather rough, didn't explain what the plan was, and did it way to quickly for me to even process what was happening.)
Quickly thereafter, my nurse started IV Pitocin to start contractions. Around 4pm I started noticing some cramping, but nothing was picking up on the monitor, so I wasn't sure if it was truly contractions. Then around 5pm, the cramping got worse, but my nurse said that it still wasn't picking up on the monitor, but said I was probably in the early stages of labor and that it would still be awhile. At 6pm, I began to panic because that consultant was going to come in and check me at 6:30pm and since I was pretty shaken up after his last visit - I wanted nothing to do with him. Steve was my advocate and explained to my nurse that the consultant was NOT allowed to step foot in my room again. (The only time I've been this scared to receive treatment from a medical professional was when I was 9 and had my teeth cleaned and I ended up biting my dentist because he was too rough!) Everyone - nurses, physicians, residents, lab techs, anesthesia - everyone has truly been phenomenal with compassion, understanding, and patience - so to have one rotten egg, was disappointing and highly unusual.
Dr. Gill came in to check me and at 6:30pm, I was finally dilated to 4cm! The contractions were pretty bad, so we decided to get the epidural in place and give me a little relief. The epidural got in at 6:46pm and was supposed to bring my pain down to a 0-3 on the pain scale. Unfortunately, it wasn't really doing the trick, but I wanted to give it a little more time to kick in because it can take up to 20 minutes for it to reach full effect. Shift change occurred for everyone and Dr. Lexie came in at 7:30pm to check me and I was at 6cm! I don't have a high pain tolerance, but didn't want to bother the nurses, so Steve once again, spoke up for me and the nurse anesthetist came in and gave me an extra dose of pain medication through the epidural at 8pm. A few minutes later, I told Steve that I had a tremendous amount of pressure and there was a definite urge to push. Even though the resident had just been in, my wonderful nurse grabbed her from the hallway and I was at a 10!! Weston was going to make his arrival soon!!! Once my water broke with Amaya and I got an epidural in, my labor advanced very rapidly - looks like Weston was going to take after his sister too! Since Weston was only 35 weeks and 4 days, the staff wanted me to deliver in the OR, just in case something went sour. They wheeled my bed down the hallway and I couldn't see Steve... HE WAS IN THE BATHROOM AND GETTING CHANGED INTO SCRUBS!!! I was so worried that he was going to miss the birth of his son, but he made it! Once we were in the OR, I pushed 3-4 times and as Steve says that, "Weston shot right out!" at 8:27pm.
Steve cut the umbilical cord and Dr. Lexi brought him up to my chest to hold. He had a pretty strong cry, but he was also grunting a little. His Apgar scores were good - 8 and five minutes later a 9. Here is our first picture minutes after delivery.
Later that afternoon - on Christmas Eve, my parents brought Amaya down to meet her brother. Here is our first family picture!
And a picture of my parents with Wes - and Amaya intensely watching him.
He had a cardiac monitor to assess his heart rate and breathing, frequent blood pressure checks, a pulse oximeter to measure his oxygen level, an IV for fluids, and a tube down his mouth to supplement feedings until my milk came in. Eventually, they moved the tube to his nose once his breathing was well established. It was a lot to keep track of, but all the physicians said he was the picture of good health, just needed to eat and grow. What a huge answer to prayer! He is our strong little boy!
More to follow....